Lecture Notes / Reading Material

Material for Exam #1
August 25	The atmosphere Some properties of gases Composition of the atmosphere Additional Reading Notes (WORD document)
August 30	Vertical variation of temperature, pressure, and density in the atmosphere Additional Reading Notes (WORD document)
September 1	Human response to air pressure and density changes The Skew-T Diagram Water in the atmosphere WORD Document Containing text notes that will be referred to in lecture Additional Reading Notes (WORD document)
September 6	A closer look at evaporation and condensation Relative humidity and Dew Point WORD Document Containing text notes that will be referred to during lecture Additional Reading Notes (WORD document)
September 8	Energy Transfer Temperature, humidity, wind, and human comfort Estimating winds from Weather Charts The following pages will be distributed as handouts during lecture: Estimate winds from weather charts - pg 1 Estimate winds from weather charts - pg 2 Additional Reading Notes (WORD document)
September 13	Clouds Hurricane Introduction and Formation Additional Reading Notes (WORD document)
September 15	Hurricane Movement and Damages WORD Document Containing text notes that will be referred to during lecture End of Exam 1 Material
Material for Exam #2
September 27	Atlantic Hurricanes and Their Effects on the United States Why Does Rising Air Cool? Conditions under which air is forced to rise Additional Reading Notes (WORD document) WORD Document Containing text notes that will be referred to during lecture
September 29	Precipitation Moving air parcels up and down through the atmosphere Stability of the atmosphere Thunderstorm Overview Additional Reading Notes (WORD document)
October 4	Thunderstorm Lifecycle and Severe Thunderstorms Additional Reading Notes (WORD document)
October 6	Tornadoes Impacts of extreme weather / Possible Trends in Severe Weather Additional Reading Notes (WORD document) WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Impacts of Extreme Weather
October 11	Impacts of extreme weather / Possible Trends in Severe Weather (Last Section) Lightning Additional Reading Notes (WORD document) WORD Document Containing in-class text notes that I write during lecture
October 13	Introduction to 500 mb weather maps More on 500 mb weather maps Additional Reading Notes (WORD document)
October 18	Ozone and the ozone hole Ultraviolet radiation and its effects Additional Reading Notes (WORD document) WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Ozone and UV Exposure
October 20	The 500 mb weather pattern and weather terminology (continued) A crash course in cyclogenesis Numerical Weather Forecasting End of Exam 2 Material
Material for Exam #3
November 1	Weather vs Climate Introduction to Climate Change Solar Radiation and the Earth's Energy Budget I WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Climate, Climate Change, and Global Warming WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Radiation and Radiative Equilibrium Temperature
November 3	Solar Radiation and the Earth's Energy Budget I (Continued) Infrared Radiation, Greenhouse Effect, and Earth's Energy Budget II Increasing Greenhouse Gases Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and the Carbon Cycle WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Radiative Equilibrium and Carbon Cycle
November 8	Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide and the Carbon Cycle(Last Section) Uncertainty in Climate Prediction and Climate Models Climate Models and their Prediction of Climate Change Additional Reading Notes (WORD document) for Nov 1, Nov 3, and Nov 8. WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Feedbacks
November 10	Potential Impacts of Global Warming Reconstructing Past Climates The Climate of the Pleistocene WORD Document Containing in-class text notes about historical temperature record
November 15	Is the Earth's Climate Fragile or Robust? The Climate of the Holocene Controversy: Global Average Temperature Reconstruction over the last 2000 years The Present Warming: 20th Centrury through today Global Warming Summary and Discussion Additional Reading Notes (WORD document) for Nov 10 and Nov 15. WORD Document Containing in-class text notes about climate history
November 17	Global Warming Summary and Discussion(bottom section) Cause of Seasonal Changes on Earth WORD Document Containing in-class text notes on Seasonal Changes
November 22	Cause of Seasonal Changes on Earth (Continued) Many Climates Blue skies, red sunsets, white clouds, haze WORD Document Containing in-class text notes End of Exam 3 material